OPINION:
I read the recent article on the frequent uses of the terms “fascist” and “Nazi,” which seem interchangeable to some (“How ‘fascist’ ended up on Kirk assassin’s bullet,” Web, Sept. 17). I’m a baby boomer, and our school system wanted to be certain that we would be able to recognize totalitarianism and reject it.
Although “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” was suggested reading in world history, a video version was used in class. The author, William Lawrence Shirer, narrated the newsreel and other footage. The video drove home fact and context and took a lot less time than reading the book. Now, 60 years later, some scenes still echo. So let’s get a bit of historical perspective.
My dictionary defines fascism as 1. “A government marked with strong socioeconomic control, a strong central government, usually headed by a dictator.” An online source mentions a “directed economy and stringent social controls.” (Historically, those labeled fascists have let the means of production remain in private hands.)
“Nazi” is the shortened term for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, NSDAP in German. So although Adolf Hitler may have been a fascist, he certainly wasn’t from the political right, and many of his signature domestic policies were socialist in design. The same was true of Benito Mussolini.
Hitler’s rise to power was based on an ability to find others to blame for the problems the German people faced. He was able to present his party as the solution to those problems. One of the most chilling memories of that long-ago video was at the conclusion of a speech by Hitler to the German house of representatives (Reichstag). After a round of applause, the members burst into song — not the German national anthem but the anthem of the party. Loyalty to the party had taken precedence over loyalty to the nation. I see this on the left today in the U.S., and I fear for my country.
If we look back to what our (Democratic) government did during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, per the definition above, we see fascism in action, complete with news media manipulation that would have made Josef Goebbels proud. But enough willing folks (useful idiots) were available that an official ministry of propaganda wasn’t necessary.
We definitely need to retool our education system so it stops serving those who would destroy our nation, and we must keep a wary eye on our own government. I had the privilege of hearing the Rev. Martin Niemoeller preach on this subject. In that talk, his famous list of those the Third Reich came after was markedly different from the one usually cited, and it has stuck with me: “First they came for the communists. We understood this and supported it.” This support was a result of the revolution sparked by the communists and their urban warfare, which continued even after the change of government.
When one starts with an action that has wide support, it’s easier to incrementally silence the opposition later. The COVID-19 repression suggests more of the same would be possible with different intent.
WILLIAM R. MOORE
Ladysmith, Virginia
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